I suspect Batley being a team not expected to reach any finals and not having recent silverware will leave many people to root for them. It's to be expected, if it were not for Widnes being their opponents I'd be rooting for them myself.

I suspect Batley being a team not expected to reach any finals and not having recent silverware will leave many people to root for them. It's to be expected, if it were not for Widnes being their opponents I'd be rooting for them myself.

There's no harm in secretly wanting your opponents to win in certain games, if you see the bigger picture, or if you had a bet on them. I backed barrow to beat Wires in the JP Trophy years back with a workmate. We won, I paid, i didn't care. If Barrow had won, I'd have been gutted, but got some cash to drown me sorrows.....

There's no harm in secretly wanting your opponents to win in certain games, if you see the bigger picture, or if you had a bet on them. I backed barrow to beat Wires in the JP Trophy years back with a workmate. We won, I paid, i didn't care. If Barrow had won, I'd have been gutted, but got some cash to drown me sorrows.....

I'd never bet against Widnes nor will I ever want us to lose. Bigger picture my postereur.

It's another one I'd place a safety bet on, so pay if we win, collect if we lose. Catalans are established now, have been to Wembley, so big picture is covered. Batley, along with Keighley, have historic sympathies with a lot since '96. Yeah, I know the Komics were dumped on too, the merger was never a go-er, but those teams have a more deserving cause for getting support. For a start they're not in Widnes.

It's another one I'd place a safety bet on, so pay if we win, collect if we lose. Catalans are established now, have been to Wembley, so big picture is covered. Batley, along with Keighley, have historic sympathies with a lot since '96. Yeah, I know the Komics were dumped on too, the merger was never a go-er, but those teams have a more deserving cause for getting support. For a start they're not in Widnes.

Bill do you remember when we went to keighley in 94-95 season for a regal trophy tie,keighley v wires? I drove in my tiny citroen ax with 5 of us crammed into it,me,my dad,my mate,you and my uncle ste. We got lost in keighley and stopped to ask that cockney bloke for directions to the rugby ground. He sent us to keighley RU ground! We found cougar park eventually and were 18-8 behind with about 10 mins remaining. I thought we had blown it,then jiffy davies got us out of trouble with some magic,we pinched it 20-18. to be fair it was a heartbreaking defeat for lower league keighley,they did not really deserve to lose that game. All their fans were really friendly and welcoming too. Such a long time ago now bit it seems like yesterday. Happy days they were!